Wednesday
Samsung denied seeing the next iPhone and iPad, Apple denied banning Samsung's new gear
In a Solomon decision that restores our trust in the justice system, some of Apple's and Samsung's more outrageous requests in their ongoing legal battle were denied.
Samsung was said to "overreach" in its request to see the next iPhone and the next iPad for possible patent infringements. That must have come as an answer to the Samsung "harassing" Apple comment. The court said that while the idea of "parity" is understandable, given that Apple was granted the permission to see the Samsung Galaxy S II and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 last week, these are now on sale nationwide anyway, whereas the next iPhone and iPad have not been even announced yet. And the above sentence in legalese:
"It is true that if Apple eventually introduces an iPhone 5 or an iPad 3 that diverges from the overall consistent look of the existing iPhone or iPad products, Apple might not be able to claim trade dress protection as to its entire line of products. As discussed above, however, Apple’s decision to limit its claims to its trademarks and trade dress as embodied in products currently in the market is not unreasonable, and Samsung points to no authority suggesting that the Court must look ahead to unreleased, and possibly not-yet-developed, products in order to evaluate the overall look of an existing product line.Finally, the Court notes that the relative burden of producing unreleased products may be somewhat greater for Apple than for Samsung. When the Court considered the potential prejudice to Samsung of producing unreleased product samples, the Court emphasized that Samsung had already released significant information about its forthcoming products into the public domain.Indeed, in addition to the images and information released to the media, Samsung had recently released 5,000 samples of its Galaxy Tab 10.1 to members of the public.Considering that images, descriptions, and actual samples of Samsung’s forthcoming products were already publicly available, the Court found that the burden to Samsung of producing the latest iterations of those products, along with their packaging, was minimal. In contrast, Apple maintains a strict policy of not commenting on future products and takes extensive measures to protect information about its unreleased products. Unlike Samsung,Apple has not publicly announced or described the products Samsung seeks to obtain. Instead,Apple closely guards this information as a trade secret. However, while this difference carries some weight, the Court agrees with Samsung that the strict protective order required by the Court and stipulated to by the parties would provide adequate protection to both parties. Apple’s contention that this protective order is sufficient for Samsung, but not for Apple, is not well-taken.The Court will not assume that outside counsel and experts who agree to strict confidentiality will nevertheless leak information about Apple’s products, nor will the Court assume that Apple would face greater harm from the release of confidential information than would Samsung."
The court, on the other hand, denied Apple's request for the allegedly-infringing Samsung gear to be banned from selling nationwide, thus evening things out, and wiping everybody's tears.
iPhone 4 becomes the most popular camera on Flickr
The iPhone 4 has just become the most popular camera on Flickr beating the Nikon D90 who long held the crown and made us wonder about all the possible reasons behind it. A look at Flickr's stats shows that its professional and semi-professional DSLRs that occupy the rankings as the Canon EOS 5D Mark II comes third, followed by the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi and the Canon EOS Rebel T1i. One thing is evident – the iPhone 4 has a far inferior camera than all of them.
But strangely even with its comparatively humble 5 megapixel snapper, it has managed to outpace the rest with a whopping 4844 average daily users and over 9 million uploaded photos. The reason? The most obvious one is sharing – publishing a picture from the iPhone is a breeze as it only takes a couple of taps, while the rest of the cameras - despite their much better sensors – lack the opportunity to instantly post images to the web.
The second reason is of course availability as a phone is always around allowing for spontaneous shots, while you don't always have your camera around. Looking at the general picture, you'd notice that it's actually the iPhone 3G which has recorded the biggest total in terms of pictures taken among iDevices with over 35 million for its couple of years of existence.
The browser wars have a new winner after major updates to platforms
Just a couple of months ago, Microsoft bragged with the performance of its IE9 browser after it blew competition out of the water in a browser benchmark fight plotted by Redmond itself. But two months later, iOS 5 is official, and we have a whole new ball game. Running Mobile Safari on an iPhone 4 updated to a beta of iOS 5 shows that there's a new winner in the browser battle.
Safari scored a whopping 31fps despite the fact that it runs on a handset with a higher resolution, dwarfing the 26fps result on the WP7 handset and the 15fps on Android. The iPhone 4 sports a screen rendering 640x960 pixels in comparison to the respective Windows Phone device which only had to support 480x800 pixels. Initially, Microsoft's browser claimed to succeed due to its hardware accelerated HTML5, but while Redmond's new platform is about to use new hardware, the iPhone 4 manages to outscore with its year-old silicon.
Tuesday
Apple Revolutionizes Video Editing With Final Cut Pro X
CUPERTINO, California-June 21, 2011-Apple® today announced Final Cut Pro® X, a revolutionary new version of the world's most popular Pro video editing software which completely reinvents video editing with a Magnetic Timeline that lets you edit on a flexible, trackless canvas; Content Auto-Analysis that categorizes your content upon import by shot type, media and people; and background rendering that allows you to work without interruption. Built on a modern 64-bit architecture, Final Cut Pro X is available from the Mac® App Store™ for $299.99.
"Final Cut Pro X is the biggest advance in Pro video editing since the original Final Cut Pro," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "We have shown it to many of the world's best Pro editors, and their jaws have dropped."
"I'm blown away by what Apple has done with Final Cut Pro," said Angus Wall, Academy Award-winning film editor. "Final Cut Pro X is incredibly modern and fast, but most importantly it lets you focus on telling your story in the most creative way, while it actively manages all of the technical details."
At the heart of Final Cut Pro X is the Magnetic Timeline, a trackless approach to editing your footage that lets you add and arrange clips wherever you want them, while other clips instantly slide out of the way. You can use Clip Connections to link primary story clips to other elements like titles and sound effects, so they stay in perfect sync when you move them. You can even combine related story elements into a Compound Clip that can be edited as a single clip. The groundbreaking new Auditions feature lets you swap between a collection of clips to instantly compare alternate takes.
Content Auto-Analysis scans your media on import and tags your content with useful information. Final Cut Pro X then uses that information to dynamically organize your clips into Smart Collections, so you can easily find the clips you want by close up, medium and wide shots as well as media type and the number of people in the shot. You can also tag parts of clips with Range-based keywords to add custom search criteria to your media.
Completely rebuilt from the ground up, Final Cut Pro X is a 64-bit app that takes full advantage of the latest Mac hardware and software so you never have to wait for the next edit, even if you're working with 4K video. Final Cut Pro X uses multi-threaded processing and the GPU on your graphics card for blazing fast background rendering and superb real-time playback performance. Additionally, a ColorSync-managed color pipeline ensures color consistency from import to output.
Final Cut Pro X also includes powerful tools for audio editing and color correction, and is complemented by two companion apps, Motion 5 for professional motion graphics and Compressor 4 for advanced media encoding, available from the Mac App Store for $49.99 each.
Pricing & Availability
Final Cut Pro X is available today for $299.99 from the Mac App Store. Motion 5 and Compressor 4 are available today for $49.99 each from the Mac App Store. Full system requirements and more information on Final Cut Pro X can be found at www.apple.com/finalcutpro.
Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.
Nokia refreshes its C2 lineup with three affordable Series 40 handsets
The C2-03 is a dual-band 900/1800 MHz handset coming with an Easy Swap SIM slot on the left side of the phone allowing you to quickly change SIM cards without having to remove the battery first. In addition, now you can also get Nokia Maps on Series 40 with offline maps, all for free. Thirdly, the phone will ship with a reworked Nokia Browser squeezing data before it reaches your device for quicker browsing speeds.
The Nokia C2-03 features a 2.6-inch display with a resolution of 240x320 pixels with 65k colors. It also comes with a 2-megapixel camera and 10MB of internal memory expandable to 32 gigs via microSD cards.
At the same time, the C2-03 packs a capable battery providing you with up to 5 hours of talk time and nearly 400 hours in standby mode. The dimensions of the handset are 4.05 x 2.02 x 0.67” (103 x 51.4 x 17mm) and it tips the scales at 4.16oz (118g). The Nokia C2-03 price is set at $110 (77 euro), but it might vary in India, China, SEAP, Eurasia and MEA, the markets for this device.
The other two of the crew are nearly identical: the Nokia C2-02 is the single SIM version with a similar feature set, but also push messaging options and included IM providers, while the Nokia C2-06 brings a set of fresh colors with a clean, smooth finish.
Nokia's N9 official
The entire thing measures 116.45- x 61.2- x 7.6-12.1mm and weighs 135 grams, with a battery capable of lasting up to 50 hours (music), 4.5 hours (720p video), or between seven and 11 hours (GSM yappin'). You'll also get gratis turn-by-turn drive and walk navigation with voice guidance in Maps, a dedicated Drive app, proximity sensor and a choice of hue: black, cyan, and magenta. Other hardware specs include 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, an ambient light sensor, compass, orientation sensor, a micro SIM slot, tethering support and a 3.5mm "AV connector." It'll be humming along on MeeGo 1.2 Harmattan, with apps being compliant with Qt 4.7 and HTML5 support bundled in.
As for software? Aside from Angry Birds Magic, Galaxy on Fire 2, Real Golf 2011 and OpenGL ES 2.0, those who take the plunge will be greeted with a Webkit2-based browser, pinch-to-zoom support, unified notifications for Facebook, Twitter and RSS feeds in the Events view as well as social networking profiles and status updates merged into phone contacts. MeeGo touts a user interface simplified to three home views -- events, applications and open apps -- with a swipe gesture able to take you back to the home view. For those looking to expand upon what's loaded from the factory, Ovi Store access is included, but we've no idea what kind of pricing will be affixed.
Symbian Anna to be available by the end of August
New phones will ship with Symbian Anna straight from the factory, of course, but existing handsets might not get the firmware update until the end of August, according to the press release. Not that once Anna is out there won't be custom ways to get it on your phone, but still, it's nicer to get the official stuff. We also know that the camera-centric Nokia N8 will be getting a special Symbian Anna version that will officially introduce 30fps and continuous autofocus to the handset, as Nokia's camera guru Damian Dinning intended.
Future versions of Symbian are all supposed to carry women's names, and be alphabetical, i.e. this one is Anna, the next one, which should be arriving October/November is dubbed Belle, and so on. For Symbian Belle Nokia UK said that if you like Android, you'll like this one too - from what we've seen so far, it has back, search and context menu buttons just like Google's OS, but we don't have many details on how exactly the notifications are handled.
Nokia also reiterated its commitment to Symbian, saying that in the next 12 months we will be seeing not less than 10 new devices with Symbian onboard, so there will be enough bread left in the platform for developers, especially considering the prices of the applications in Ovi Store.
BMW electric vehicle Android app learns from your driving patterns
BMW is no stranger to integrating smartphones in its products, or using your iPhone, BlackBerry or Android device to provide Roadside Assistance.
It now takes the relationship between the BMW car driver and their smartphone to the next level, by outing the BMW EVolve app.
The goal by launching the app, which analyzes your driving patterns, is to determine if a BMW ActiveE, the company's all-electric vehicle, or some other upcoming engineering marvel, will be a good fit for your driving habits.
You can log on to a dedicated website, and submit the results to BMW's servers, while the car maker is calling all app users its Collective Engineers, who are helping it shape up the electric vehicles of tomorrow.
Monday
Samsung Galaxy S II ad teaches you to dance with your fingers
We've seen a couple of them Samsung Galaxy S II commercials, but this one has actually turned viral in the couple of days since it's been out, so it's definitely worth checking out. Actually, it makes you forget it's a phone ad for a second, which generally speaking should not be a good thing for the promoted Galaxy S II, but this case might be an exception.
The commercial invites you to “Unleash your fingers” and gives you a whole new perspective of how much more you can do with your fingers.
Nokia rolls the iron shutters down: “it's Apple-style secrecy right now”
"The iron shutters are down around development – it’s “Apple-style” secrecy right now," a Nokia employee shared with SlashGear. The new Nokia Windows Phone device needs not only the specs, but also the flare of an exciting launch. Apple has probably been the best example in the industry, mastering its launches and managing to get customers involved and waiting for new products:
“If we can build the same hype around our first Windows Phone as Apple does about iPhone…” another Nokia employee voiced his hope that the company could release a product inspiring long lines.
But while Windows Phone rules the high-end segment, mid-range and low-end handsets are still to come with Nokia's Symbian platform. The operating system got an overhaul with the Symbian Anna update bringing portrait QWERTY input, a new Browser 7.3 with support for HTML5 and brand new looks, but expectations for the next update, Belle, are even higher. "If you like Android then you’ll love Symbian Belle," Nokia staff was upbeat about the future.
Sunday
Wednesday
Google announces Search by Image and Voice Search for desktop, revamped mobile search
Google's done a ton of talking about search at its Inside Search event today, and two of the biggest new developments are on the desktop. It's just announced that Android-style Voice Search is headed to Chrome (with support for English only, initially), and that it will be joined by a new Search by Image feature (also available in Chrome, or Firefox with an extension). To use that latter feature, you simply drag and drop an image or cut and paste an image URL in the search box, and then Google tries its best to recognize it and deliver relevant results -- including identifying the location in an old vacation photo, for instance (though Google notes it isn't doing face recognition). Both features will be rolling out over the next few days, but you can get a glimpse of them now in the demo videos after the break.
Sunday
Did Apple steal the Wi-Fi Sync feature for iOS 5 from a developer whose similar app was rejected?
When Apple recently introduced iOS 5, it mentioned a new feature called "Wi-Fi Sync". This allows an iOS user with a device connected to a power source to automatically sync and back-up the device to iTunes via a Wi-Fi connection. To University of Birmingham student Greg Hughes, this sounded awfully familiar. Hughes had submitted an app to the App Store with the same exact name and practically the same logo that Apple rolled out earlier last week. Unfortunately, Apple had rejected the submission.
After rejecting Hughes' app for the App Store, an Apple representative called to tell him that while the app technically did not break any rules, it did "encroach upon the boundaries" of what can be offered in the App Store. Hughes didn't drop the project, instead he listed his app in the Cydia store aimed at jail-broken devices and sold over 50,000 copies of his "Wi-Fi Sync".
Greg Hughes, developer of the rejected "Wi-Fi Sync" with his logo(on top) and Apple's logo
When the student learned about Apple's introduction of its "Wi-Fi Sync", he was shocked and surprised. Hughes had been selling his version of "Wi-Fi Sync for a year. Apple had known about his software and he felt that the Cupertino-based firm had "pinched it for iOS 5". And while the App Store representative he spoke on the phone with last year had told him how impressed with his work the iPhone engineering team was, Hughes has received some legal advice and plans on defending himself and his work.
As the App Store continues to grow, it might be harder and harder for Apple to avoid stepping on the toes of small developers like Greg Hughes, which makes this a legal matter to watch as it moves through the legal system. If it does become a lawsuit,we would not be surprised to see Apple offer a settlement to make it go away.
iCloud Communications sues Apple for obvious reasons
You probably know the drill by now -- Cupertino introduces a new product with a name that ostensibly belongs to someone else, and for better or worse that someone decides to take Apple to court. Today, it's iCloud Communications charging out of the left corner to sock Apple's iCloud square in the wallet. Arizona-based iCloud Communications appears to be a VoIP equipment and service provider, though in court documents it claims to be a cloud computing company as well, and claims that it's been using the term iCloud (and the above logo) to sell such services since 2005. It's asking the court to destroy all iCloud marketing materials, pay damages and even invalidate the iCloud trademark that Apple bought from Xcerion -- the only registered iCloud trademark so far -- but what's probably going to actually happen here is a nice little settlement out of court.
Friday
Netflix, Foursquare, LinkedIn, and Square apps expose your data
Here's a little tip for app developers: encrypt everything, especially passwords. Security firm viaForensics fed some popular iPhone and Android apps through its appWatchdog tool and found that Netflix, LinkedIn, and Foursquare all stored account passwords unencrypted. Since the results were first published on the 6th, Foursquare has updated its app to obscure users' passwords, but other data (such as search history) is still vulnerable. While those three were the worst offenders, other apps also earned a big fat "fail," such as the iOS edition of Square which stores signatures, transaction amounts, and the last four digits of credit card numbers unencrypted. Most of this data would take some effort to steal, but it's not impossible for a bunch of ne'er-do-wells to create a piece malware that can harvest it.
Microsoft releases Android developer poaching package for Windows Phone 7
Microsoft's App Guy has quite a job on his baby-soft hands: to boost Windows Phone 7's numerically-challenged Marketplace by encouraging developers to port apps across from other platforms. The little fellow helped iPhone devs out a couple of months ago with an API mapping tool to makes it easier to translate iPhone APIs to WP7 code. Now he's extended the mapping tool to work with Android APIs too, and backed it up with a 90-page white paper and a promise to get more involved in developer forums.
Plants vs. Zombies for iPhone gets new game modes
Just when we thought we were out, PopCap is pulling us back in. PopCap Games has released an update for Plants vs. Zombies for iPhone, including 1 new game mode, 6 new mini-games, and 6 new achievements. Let the zombiepocalypse begin.
The new game mode, 'Zen Garden', takes a slightly more traditional approach to the gardening theme. You start off with some sprouts on bamboo palettes, and water and fertilize them to health, receiving in-game credits for your efforts. You can buy new plants, as well as helpful accessories like an upgraded watering can, fertilizer, and pesticide.
The 6 new mini-games are 'Zombiquarium', 'It's Raining Seeds', 'Column Like You See', 'Slot Machine', 'Beghouled Twist', and 'Portal Combat'. If you played the desktop version, then you're already familiar with these modes. But they're new for mobile users.
Along with the update, PopCap informed us that Retina Display support will be coming along this year, along with some new modes called 'IZombie' and 'Vasebreaker'. Thank you PopCap, for once again giving us a great excuse to not work.
Rovio teases Carnival update for Angry Birds Rio, coming soon
Just mere days after Rovio unveiled a new set of levels for its Angry Birds release with the “Mine and Dine” episode, an update for Angry Birds Rio named Carnival was also teased with a brand new trailer. In this new episode, the birds meet a pack of monkeys under the hot samba rhythm just when the carnival unfolds and you can even see the crowds looking at the action in the background.
It seems that we have the familiar set of birds who first took the journey to Rio, but unfortunately the update is not yet out (despite what the screenshot says) for us to see if there are some neat surprises. We'd expect to see it hit app stores by the end of the month and hopefully even sooner, but for the time being why don't you check out the teaser video below for yourself and get in the mood for action.
Apple gives in to publishers, changes policy on in-app subscription prices
It looks like Apple has decided to make some pretty major changes to its App Store Review Guidelines -- and, in particular, to its controversial in-app subscription policy. Under the new guidelines, publishers will be able to offer subscriptions to content outside of the App Store, as long as their apps don't include a "buy" button that directs users away from Apple's marketplace. Under the previous version of the policy, which was set to go into effect at the end of this month, app owners offering subscriptions outside of App Store were required to sell equivalent, in-app services at the "same price or less than it is offered outside the app," while giving a 30 percent cut to Cupertino. Now, however, they can price these in-app subscriptions as they see fit, or circumvent the system altogether, by exclusively selling them outside of their apps. Apple will still receive 30 percent of the revenue generated from in-app subscriptions, but won't get any money from purchases made outside of its domain. Theoretically, then, publishers would be able to offer in-app subscriptions at higher prices, in order to offset Apple's share. This is how the new rules are worded:
11.13 Apps that link to external mechanisms for purchases or subscriptions to be used in the app, such as a "buy" button that goes to a web site to purchase a digital book, will be rejectedIt's important to note, though, that Apple hasn't made any changes to its policy on sharing user information. Publishers had been lobbying to gain access to subscribers' credit card data and other personal information, which they see as critical to applying a TV Everywhere model to online publishing. With today's concessions, though, these demands may become less insistent.11.14 Apps can read or play approved content (specifically magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, and video) that is subscribed to or purchased outside of the app, as long as there is no button or external link in the app to purchase the approved content. Apple will not receive any portion of the revenues for approved content that is subscribed to or purchased outside of the app.
Thursday
Evernote Peek app uses the iPad 2's Smart Cover to improve your memory
Free Evernote Peek app for the iPad 2 uses the iPad 2's Smart Cover to let you 'peek' at clues, and then peel back the cover to reveal the answer. To move on to the next question, you simply close the cover completely, and begin again.
You will have access to pre-made study guides from Evernote and Study Blue. But you can also make your own study guides and quizzes. The note titles become the clues, and the bodies become the answers. As you go through your quizzes, you simply denote the answers you got wrong, and Evernote Peek will score your tests and track your progress.
Android Market attrition rate is twice that of Apple's App Store
Android, and the Android Market specifically, are growing at an incredible rate. Recent research from Distimo and research2guidance claimed that the Android Market was on its way to eclipsing the Apple App Store by the end of this year. But they failed to take the attrition rate into account.
The earlier research only factored in new app additions. But new analysis by AppsFire shows that the Android Market has an attrition rate twice that of the App Store. Of the 300,000 apps published in the Android Market, 32% of those have since been removed. But of the App Store's 500,000 total apps, only 16% have been removed.
So why is this the case? AppsFire says that Android developers might have a harder time monetizing their apps, or it becomes unprofitable to try and maintain them. The Android Market also has an easier process, as well as no $100 development fee. App Store additions, on the whole, tend to be more carefully brought to market.
GigaOM suggests that the Android Market is a better venue for experimentation, while the App Store is better for making money. And we tend to agree. The only downside to Android's openness is that it lends to many under-thought apps, and less quality/security vetting.
Android Market now shows which handsets are compatible with each app
With the new feature, those wanting a specific app on their phone won't have to read the text that is posted in the Market. Sometimes longwinded and too much of a hassle to go through, some developers slip in which handsets are compatible with a specific app, but like the fine print on a contract, it doesn't get read. The addition by Google of the device compatibility check will save Market users time and eliminate the aggravation of having to uninstall a recently downloaded app because it doesn't work on your phone.
Microsoft might be making its own-brand Windows 8 tablet
There are several reasons, however, why what looks like a mere speculation, might have some merit. First off, Microsoft is one of the few companies that fully licensed the ARM chipset design last year, along with traditional chip companies like Qualcomm or TI. While this might have been to ensure access to ARM's architecture because of the plans to bring Windows to ARM-based devices, it might also mean some hardware plans are in the works, too. Microsoft is no stranger to using the screwdriver - Xbox 360 with Kinect and the Zune player come to mind.
Moreover, Texas Instruments already announced that its new 1.8GHz multicore OMAP4470 chipset will be fully supporting Windows 8. Seeing how TI comes out on top in Android benchmarks, we'd assume its chips have impressed Redmond enough already. Microsoft is working with Qualcomm for Windows Phone handsets, using Snapdragon, but TI's silicon might have become preferable for its Windows 8 tablets.
Acer already complained that Microsoft is imposing strict hardware requirements on OEMs for Windows 8 on tablets, making it difficult for them to comply, and that it is trying to control the whole process, Apple style.
Obviously Redmond is actually trying to avoid subpar experiences and fragmentation of its "riskiest product bet", Windows 8, and the best way to do that is to do it yourself. Thus, borrowing a page from Apple's book, which is above all a computer company, reaching unbelievable operating margins by gating and controlling its hardware-software circle, Microsoft might decide to create a Windows 8 tablet of its own, be it only for reference purposes, like Google's Nexus handsets.
Apple in talks with Intel to switch chipset production away from Samsung's foundries
And the story gets juicier - both companies are to start off with manufacturing, but Intel wants to make chip designs for Apple in the future, and be its sole provider. ARM-based silicon is all the rage now, but Intel is planning to have its 22nm production process ready before anyone else, and should have benchmark-beating mobile chipsets by 2013.
All of this doesn't sound like Apple moving to Intel because it has something better to show than ARM in this very moment, but it sure sounds like Cupertino is trying to diversify from Samsung, which is producing the bulk of silicon that goes into the iPhone and iPad. Or maybe Apple just doesn't feel comfortable having all its eggs in one basket.
Still, that lawsuit it filed against the South Korean company might be having some repercussions already, after all. If that's the case, the probability of seeing AMOLED displays on Apple's gadgets is slowly approaching zero.
Norton says Android security threats are only going to get worse
First off, let's be honest: security threats to Android are in Norton's best interest. After all, they recently released an anti-virus solution for the Android operating system, so spreading fear will help their bottom line. But that doesn't mean they don't have some good points.
According to Norton, the increasing malware problem on the Android OS is only going to get worse. They explain that Android has three key features that make it a target: it's an open platform, it's monetizable, and it is increasingly ubiquitous.
What's more, it's scarily easy to make an Android app into a Trojan horse. So it doesn't take a technical mastermind to make spyware, adware, and other malicious apps. And, while we're not blaming Google, the Android Market isn't exactly Fort Knox. Google will remove apps if they are reported, but they don't vet them in the same way that Apple does.
And we're really not blaming Google. The problem with fame and success, as any pro athlete will tell you, is that the world will come after you for all you've got. The real problem is that mobile malware is a young threat, so we haven't fully built solutions to combat it, as we have with traditional computers. Not to freak you out too much, but we imagine hackers are drooling over the potential for an NFC revolution, which would put more than our Facebook passwords at risk.
Google Maps Navigation to go offline this summer?
Dutch tech site All About Phones claims that Google Maps Navigation will get a true offline mode later this summer. In December the Android app received an update that cached routes and the surrounding areas, but without a data connection you still couldn't enter a new destination. A source inside the Dutch telco industry said that Goog would removing the requirement for coverage -- an obvious next step for the nav tool, especially with Ovi Maps bringing its turn-by-turn prowess to WP7. The move is also bound to be another thorn in the side of standalone GPS makers like Garmin and TomTom. After all, it's tough to compete with free.
Wednesday
Windows Phone 7 is getting 8 new Xbox Live games
Needless to say, the platform will be getting its dose of gaming with recognizable titles like Angry Birds, Sonic the Hedgehog: Episode I, and Plants vs Zombies all arriving this month, but there’s no arguing that handset owners will be starving for some more as well to satisfy their appetite. Well, they’re going to be excited to know that Microsoft announced 8 new Xbox Live games arriving on the platform “in the coming months.” These include Beards and Beaks, Hasta la Muerte, Let’s Golf 2, Pac-Man CE DX, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction, Tentacles, Top Gun and Z0mb1es.
The Wii U, Nintendo's next console
Coming in 2012, Nintendo's next home console will deliver "deeper game experiences" that aim to offer "something for everyone." And it'll be called the Wii U! A variety of new controls will be made available by that crazy new controller with a 6.2-inch touchscreen embedded in it. Most importantly, you'll no longer be tied to a TV to enjoy your home consoling action -- the Wii U controller can handle your gaming session when the television is needed for other purposes, while a built-in front-facing cam will let you video chat from anywhere too. Notably, you won't have to use the 6.2-inch behemoth if you don't want too -- the Wii U will be compatible with all current-gen accessories and software. Yes, your expansive Wii collection will play on the U version of the console as well. We've also seen some decidedly high-def visuals from Nintendo showing off the Wii U's graphical prowess.
BlackBerry PlayBook gets updated
The PlayBook isn't even two months old yet and it's already scored a second update to its QNX-based OS. First up from BlackBerry Tablet OS v1.0.5 is an upgraded Facebook app, which is now a preloaded part of the system software and can do some really neat things... like delete unwanted messages. Devs will be happy to hear that they can include in-app payments, while our European friends should be excited about the expanded language support. There are a few other welcome changes, including some enterprise-friendly tweaks to video chat, a new pop-up power menu (pictured above), and the ability to charge even when the device is turned off -- a constraint we're sure had at least a few owners pulling a Picard-like facepalm.
Tuesday
iTunes (in the Cloud) 10.3 beta available for download
If you live in the US or Canada then the iTunes 10.3 beta is ready to rumble. Automatic downloads and access to your purchase history is limited to iOS 4.3.3 users on the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and 3rd and 4th generation iPod touch devices. Once you meet those requirements, the iTunes in the Cloud beta promises to keep all of your newly purchased iTunes music in sync between devices while giving you the choice to download previously purchased tracks whenever you want at no additional cost. 10.3 beta also brings the Automatic Downloads feature to your apps and books, now allowing you to purchase tomes from your desktop while keeping them in sync with the iBooks app running on your iOS devices.
HTC sales in May reached $1.42 billion, more than double last year's total
Taiwan's premier smartphone maker has once again blown away its performance from the previous year, having informed the Taiwan Stock Exchange that it tallied up T$40.62b ($1.42b) in consolidated sales for May 2011. That's a neat chunk of change more than April's T$38.73b and it also comfortably dwarfs last year's May total of T$18.82b ($656m). There's no breakdown of what devices are to credit for HTC's ever-ascending revenues, but if you ask us, its future prosperity looks pretty good with the Sensation, EVO 3D, and a few tablet-shaped things lurking on the horizon.
Official Mac OS X Lion Video
Get a closer look at OS X Lion, the world's most advanced desktop operating system. With features like Mission Control, Launchpad, full-screen apps, and new gestures, OS X Lion takes Mac further than ever.
Official iOS 5 video
Get a closer look at a few of the over 200 features that make iOS 5 the best update yet for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch.
Mozilla's Webian Shell interface will cloak your OS in a browser
With Google's fleet of Chromebooks making their way to market, Mozilla Labs has decided to release a similarly browser-based desktop interface, known as the Webian Shell. As of now, the prototype app consists of a screen-encompassing web browser, which essentially replaces your desktop interface. There's an address bar running across the top of the screen, a clock in the bottom right corner, and a tab button for all your web apps. Developed as part of the company's Mozilla Chromeless project, the tool was written entirely in HTML, CSS and JavaScript and, unlike Chrome OS, is designed to run on top of existing operating systems, rather than replace them. For now, the Shell is still in an early phase of development, looks pretty spartan and can't control a system's hardware. Mozilla, however, says it has plans to incorporate multiple home screens, split screen views and an on-screen keyboard, among other features. Windows, Linux and Mac OS X users can download the Shell now from here.
Nintendo 3DS system update is live, grab your free copy of Excitebike now
Nintendo has released a system update for anxious 3DS owners. The free update over WiFi delivers an internet browser and the eShop digital store to your multidimensional handheld. As a bonus, Ninty's offering the 3D-remastered NES game, Excitebike, for free until Tuesday with additional cash-money content coming to the store on Thursdays.
Apple has sold 200 million iOS devices
At the WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference) today, Apple announced some ridiculously impressive sales figures for their products. To date, they've sold 200 million iOS devices. And what's more, the relatively young iPad accounts for 25 million.
On the download end of things, Apple reported that they've distributed 14 billion App Store downloads, and 130 million downloads from the iBookstore. Those figures do include free apps, but that doesn't make it any less impressive. Developers have been paid $2.5 billion thus far. iTunes, which obviously had a head start, has sold 15 billion songs.
Apple announces iOS 5
Apple ushered its mobile operating system iOS in a new era today, announcing its fifth iteration, which brings along major updates. Steve Jobs himself took the stage at the Moscone Center in San Fransisco in the beginning of the keynote, but it was Apple's Scott Forstall who announced the inclusion of more than 200 new features in iOS 5, which is supposed to grace Apple's devices this fall.
These include the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPod touch 3rd and 4th generation, as well as the iPad and iPad 2, plus whatever new phone comes later this year, of course.
After bragging about 425 000 applications in the App Store, $2.5 billion shelled out to developers, and 225 million credit card accounts linked to Apple's ecosystem, iOS 5 was unveiled, calling it a "major release", and ten new features were listed as most important.
First on the chopping block was the old intrusive way of doing notifications. We now have the so-called Notification Center, which appears when you swipe down from the top of the screen, much like on Android handsets. There you have your messages, calendar alerts, email and social networking updates and app updates, as well as stock and weather widgets on top, but no word if they will be updated live. These notifications will also jump on the lock screen, with one-swipe access directly to the app that created them.
iOS 5 Notification Center
Newsstand
Next up was Newsstand, which lists all your magazines and newspapers like on a bookshelf. A lot of major publishers seem to be onboard, and there is to be a dedicated section of the App Store for subscription stuff, so if this doesn't get us into the new era of consuming old-school printed media, we don't know what will. Newsstand integrates and manages all your subscriptions, and allows you to purchase and download issues for offline viewing.
Feature number three was deep Twitter integration with one-time login in Settings, contacts integration, and with many apps, like Camera and Photos, taking advantage of the Twitter invasion in iOS 5. Safari and Maps are also Twitter-ified, and a new API is given to developers who want to integrate the single Twitter sing-in it in their own apps.
Twitter integration in iOS 5
Mobile Safari, in its turn, gets new features too, like a button in the address bar called Safari Reader, which cleans out all the distractions while you are reading a story, sets the right font size, and leaves simply text and pictures - we certainly like the idea. Apple called Safari "the best mobile browser out there", and if by distractions it meant Flash, then no wonder why. A Reading List function is added, to save a story for reading later, which automatically appears as pending on all your iOS devices afterwards. What's more, the browser now supports tabbed browsing, which looks like, well, tabbed browsing - tap on a tab, and you are making its content active.
Next on the list of novelties in iOS 5 is the Reminders app which allows you to store multiple lists, and even assign a location to them, for example to remind you to call someone when you leave or arrive in a certain area. Reminders can sync between multiple devices, and also with your calendar.
There is a new way to access Camera in iOS 5, with the app icon straight on the lock screen taking you to the interface, and pressing volume up to take a photo as you would with a dedicated one-stage shutter key. You can also now hold down your finger in the camera interface to autofocus and highlight the exposure on a precise area in the frame, which should help with the under/over exposure troubles of the shooter. Pinch-to-zoom in the frame is possible now directly in the Camera app, and some simple on-device editing like crop, rotate, red-eye reduction and automatic enhancement enter the stage with iOS 5. In the Photos app you can also organize your pictures in albums straight on the device.
The Mail app has received an overhaul, too, with RTF, flagging of messages, drag-able email addresses between address fields, and search within the whole content of the message. There is also a new formatting bar in Mail, with bold, italics, underline and indention controls. A universal dictionary has been built into iOS 5, for use across all applications.
Split-up keyboard for easier thumb typing on a tablet
The onscreen keyboard can now be split in two, for easier thumb-typing on a tablet, for example, much like what Microsoft demonstrated the other day is to come with Windows 8 on tablets. Good, no more pecking with one finger on the iPad now. On a sidenote, the iPad 2 also gets AirPlay Mirroring - the ability to mirror its screen wirelessly to an HDTV via the Apple TV hockey puck.
Gone are the activation and syncing that required hooking your device to a computer, it can now all be done wirelessly. Also, when you take it out of the box, it will activate over the Internet and that's that. And finally OTA system app updates are being introduced, which will only update what's changed in the new version, instead of reinstalling the whole thing.
Game Center with profile photos
That Game Center thing? Yes, it finds its way into iOS 5 with 50 million users already, with the ability to add photos to your profile. Game Center is quite social - it allows you to share scores and see game recommendations from your friends. Games can also be purchased and downloaded directly from Game Center.
And, finally, the dubbed BBM-killer iMessage was announced, for all iOS users, regardless if they are on an iPad, iPod touch or an iPhone, over Wi-Fi or 3G. You can send text messages, contacts, pictures, videos, and it also supports group messaging. Delivery and read receipts come standard with iMessage, and you can also see when someone on the other side is typing, with the whole conversation being encrypted.
iMessage is an instant messaging network for all iOS users
Those were the ten major feature updates announced today at Apple's WWDC 2011 event. Some of them were expected, others come as quite a surprise, and some of them were long overdue. What do you think, is this major iOS update all you've been waiting for?
iCloud
Naturally, iCloud will first before most act like a normal storage service - it will enable seamless cloud syncing for your iDevices. For example, if you have taken some new photos with your iPhone, once it gets connected to a Wi-Fi network, the pics will automatically get transferred to your iCloud, and from there - to your iPad, iPod touch, Mac, or even PC, without requiring any additional effort. Simple as that! But just how big is the scope of it?
Most of Apple's iCloud will be offered for free. The free services include:
1. Contacts, Calendar and Mail - the former MobileMe services - which have been completely rewritten in order to work with iCloud. These will be free of any (i)Ads, and the push Mail account will be hosted at me.com. So, there you have it - everything from contacts, through calendars to inboxes will be easily kept in sync.
2. App Store and iBookstore - this is pretty straightforward - purchases of apps and books can now be downloaded on all your devices. In addition, users will now be able to see their purchase history, and with the tap of a single button, will be allowed to download any apps and books to any iOS device.
3. iCloud Backup - the purpose of backup is self-explainable - everyday, while you're charging your iDevice, and it's connected to a Wi-Fi network, its content gets backed up to iCloud. The backed up content includes music, apps, books, photos, videos, settings and app data. So, now, when you decide to get a new device (by Apple, apparently), you'll simply have to enter your Apple id and pass and voila - all your data will be downloaded.
4. iCloud Storage - this service takes advantage of the new iCloud Storage APIs in order to manage your documents in the cloud (Pages, Numbers and Keynote docs). It keeps track of any changes, and makes sure to apply them to all your iDevices. The apps from the iWork suite already take advantage of that funcitonality.
5. Photo Stream - thanks to this sweet service here, you'll be able to have your photos synced across your iDevices, Mac and even PC. Note however, that iDevices will keep the last 1000 pics made, if you don't move them to an album or something. Macs and PCs won't have that limitation. Photos sent to iCloud will stay there for 30 days.
6. iTunes in the Cloud - now, music that you've previously purchased through iTunes will be downloadable on any of your iOS devices, for free. Nice, huh? Same for new purchases - those, you'll be able to automatically download to all iOS gadgets. But what about songs that are not purchased from iTunes? Thanks to a special service called iTunes Match - Apple will... match your music with content from iTunes, and if it finds a certain song, it will simply replace it with a 256kbps AAC DRM-free version. Why do that? Easy - because it would make your music available online in a matter of minutes, instead of having to upload your entire library to the cloud. The bad news is that iTunes Match will cost you something - $24.99 a year, to be exact.
Apple iCloud and its services will be available along with iOS 5 this fall. However, the good news is that iTunes in the Cloud, along with automatic download of apps and books, is available right away in the U.S. for users on iTunes 10.3 and iOS 4.3.3.